Sleep and test scores: is there a connection?

Sleep and test scores: is there a connection? A new study has concluded that there is an optimum amount of time for children and young people to sleep in terms of how well they perform in school, and more is not necessarily better. The research, published in the Eastern Economic Journal, used data from 1,724 elementary and secondary students to explore the relationship between sleep and performance on standardized tests. Findings showed a statistically significant relationship between the two, with the most beneficial amount of time varying by age. This ranged from 9-9.5 hours for 10-year-olds to 7 hours for 16-year-olds.

Writing about reading makes a difference A recent meta-analysis from the Harvard Education Review has shown that writing about something they have read improves students' understanding of the text, as well as their reading fluency and word reading. To reach this conclusion, the authors reviewed findings from 92 studies on the topic. They focused on studies that had an experimental or quasi-experimental design; involved a treatment group that wrote about what they read, were taught to write, or increased how much they wrote; and included at least one reading measure that assessed the impact of the writing treatment or condition.

Policies to help disadvantaged students  New research from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) looks at international data to explore how disadvantaged students can best be supported, and the findings emphasize fairness and inclusion. Recommendations include using teaching practices that are known to make a difference for low-performing students, eliminating grade repetition, deferring any student selection or ability grouping until the later secondary years to avoid exacerbating inequities, and attracting, supporting, and retaining high-quality teachers.

What works in science education? The U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse is now conducting reviews of research on interventions designed to improve the science achievement of K-12 students. This new area will identify research-based interventions that have been shown to be effective in teaching the content, practices, and skills of life science, Earth and space science, and physical science. The first intervention report in this area looks at the research on Chemistry That Applies and the second report examines the research on ThinkerTools.

Examining the effects of reform strategies The Consortium on Chicago School Research has released a new report that examines five different reform models initiated by Chicago Public Schools in 36 elementary and secondary schools identified as chronically low performing. The reform models, implemented between 1997 and 2010, involved strategies such as staff replacement, leadership replacement, governance replacement, and change in attendance rules (see Table 1 on page 3 of the report for specific models and their key elements). Findings showed that elementary and middle schools that were part of the turnaround effort made significant improvements in test scores compared with similar schools that did not; however, large improvements did not occur immediately in the first year. In contrast, high schools that underwent reform did not show significant improvements in absences or percentages of ninth graders considered "on track" to graduate over matched comparison schools.